Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal trainer Bryant Johnson honors her with 3 push-ups in front of her casket at the Capitol

The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal trainer of more than 20 years, Bryant Johnson, paid tribute to her as she lay in state in the U.S. Capitol on Friday by dropping to the ground and doing three pushups before her casket. 

Ginsburg became well known for her rigorous exercise routine consisting of squats, curls, planks and 20 full push-ups. Johnson wrote a book about it in 2017, “The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong…And You Can Too!”

In Oct. 2019, Ginsburg said she continued her workout even after receiving radiation treatment that summer. She said she started working with Johnson in 1999 after her first battle with cancer – that time in her colon – when her husband expressed concern about how frail she appeared. She worked out with Johnson twice a week at 7 p.m. from then on. 

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The few breaks in their workouts in the Supreme Court gym came when Johnson – an Army reservist and equal opportunity adviser – was deployed to Kuwait from 2004-2007, and when Ginsburg had serious health issues such as her 2009 bout with pancreatic cancer and a 2014 heart stent implant. 

“Even though I tend to get consumed by my work and won’t let it go – that’s why I work long hours into the night – when it’s time to be with Bryant, everything stops and I go down to the gym,” Ginsburg told USA TODAY in 2013. 

Contributing: Richard Wolf

Squat, lift, kick, curl: Justice Ginsburg’s workout is tough and it left me exhausted

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